ITV lining up possible Endemol bid
ITV is understood to be partnering with Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset empire to put forward a bid for Endemol, the beleaguered production company.
Despite producing a number of hit shows including Big Brother and Secret Diary of a Call Girl the firm has been lumbered with £1.77bn in debt.
Nevertheless there are attractions for ITV in a purchase, notably to fulfil its ambition of growing in-house production in order to exploit the intellectual property rights of its shows overseas.
This would serve to diversify the broadcaster’s income away from advertising revenue, cushioning it from economic shocks
Mediaset currently owns around a third of Endemol which has more than 80 subsidiaries in 31 countries.